would be difficult, if not altogether impossible, even though conducted
on a grand and expensive scale. There are several reasons for this. Its
woods are in many places absolutely impenetrable—on account either of
the thick tangled undergrowth, or from the damp, spongy nature of the
soil. There are no roads that could be traversed by horse or man; and
the few paths are known only to the wild savage,—not always passable
even by him. Travelling can only be done by water, either upon the great
rivers, or by the narrow creeks (igaripes) or lagoons; and a journey
performed in this fashion must needs be both tedious and indirect,
allowing but a limited opportunity for observation. Horses can scarce be
said to exist in the country, and cattle are equally rare—a few only are
found in one or two of the large Portuguese settlements on the main
river—and the jaguars and blood-sucking bats offer a direct impediment
to their increase. Contrary to the general belief, the tropical forest
is not the home of the larger mammalia: it is not their proper
_habitat_, nor are they found in it. In the Amazon forest but few
species exist, and these not numerous in individuals. There are no vast
herds—as of buffaloes on the prairies of North America, or of antelopes
in Africa. The tapir alone attains to any considerable size,—exceeding
that of the ass,—but its numbers are few. Three or four species of small
deer represent the ruminants, and the hog of the Amazon is the peccary.
Of these there are at least three species. Where the forest impinges on
the mountain regions of Peru, bears are found of at least two kinds, but
not on the lower plains of the great “Montaña,”—for by this general
designation is the vast expanse of the Amazon country known among the
Peruvian people. “Montes” and “montañas,” literally signifying
“mountains,” are not so understood among Spanish Americans. With them
the “montes” and “montañas” are tracts of forest-covered country, and
that of the Amazon valley is the “Montaña” _par excellence_.
Sloths of several species, and opossums of still greater variety, are
found all over the Montaña, but both thinly distributed as regards the
number of individuals. A similar remark applies to the ant-eaters or
“ant-bears,” of which there are four kinds,—to the armadillos, the
“agoutis,” and the “cavies,” one of which last, the _capibara_, is the
largest rodent upon earth. This, with its kindred genus, the “paca,” is
not so rare in individual numbers, but, on the contrary, appears in
large herds upon the borders of the rivers and lagoons. A porcupine,
several species of spinous rats, an otter, two or three kinds of
badger-like animals (the _potto_ and _coatis_), a “honey-bear” (_Galera
barbara_), and a fox, or wild dog, are widely distributed throughout the
Montaña.
Everywhere exists the jaguar, both the black and spotted varieties, and
the puma has there his lurking-place. Smaller cats, both spotted and
striped, are numerous in species, and squirrels of several kinds, with
bats, complete the list of the terrestrial mammalia.
Of all the lower animals, monkeys are the most common, for to them the
Montaña is a congenial home. They abound not only in species, but in the
number of individuals, and their ubiquitous presence contributes to
enliven the woods. At least thirty different kinds of them exist in the
Amazon valley, from the “coatas,” and other howlers as large as baboons,
to the tiny little “ouistitis” and “säimiris,” not bigger than squirrels
or rats.
While we must admit a paucity in the species of the quadrupeds of the
Amazon, the same remark does not apply to the birds. In the
ornithological department of natural history, a fulness and richness
here exist, perhaps not equalled elsewhere. The most singular and
graceful forms, combined with the most brilliant plumage, are everywhere
presented to the eye, in the parrots and great macaws, the toucans,
trogons, and tanagers, the shrikes, humming-birds, and orioles; and even
in the vultures and eagles: for here are found the most beautiful of
predatory birds,—the king vulture and the harpy eagle. Of the feathered
creatures existing in the valley of the Amazon there are not less than
one thousand different species, of which only one half have yet been
caught or described.
Reptiles are equally abundant—the serpent family being represented by
numerous species, from the great water boa (_anaconda_), of ten yards in
length, to the tiny and beautiful but venomous _lachesis_, or coral
snake, not thicker than the shank of a tobacco-pipe. The lizards range
through a like gradation, beginning with the huge “jacare,” or
crocodile, of several species, and ending with the turquoise-blue
_anolius_, not bigger than a newt.
The waters too are rich in species of their peculiar inhabitants—of
which the most remarkable and valuable are the _manatees_ (two or three
species), the great and smaller turtles, the porpoises of various kinds,
and an endless catalogue of the finny tribes that frequent the rivers of
the tropics. It is mainly from this source, and not from four-footed
creatures of the forest, that the human denizen of the great Montaña
draws his supply of food,—at least that portion of it which may be
termed the “meaty.” Were it not for the _manatee_, the great porpoise,
and other large fish, he would often have to “eat his bread dry.”
And now it is _his_ turn to be “talked about.” I need not inform you
that the aborigines, who inhabit the valley of the Amazon, are all of
the so-called _Indian_ race—though there are so many distinct tribes of
them that almost every river of any considerable magnitude has a tribe
of its own. In some cases a number of these tribes belong to one
_nationality_; that is, several of them may be found speaking nearly the
same language, though living apart from each other; and of these larger
divisions or nationalities there are several occupying the different
districts of the Montaña. The tribes even of the same nationality do not
always present a uniform appearance. There are darker and fairer tribes;
some in which the average standard of height is less than among
Europeans; and others where it equals or exceeds this. There are tribes
again where both men and women are ill-shaped and ill-favored—though
these are few—and other tribes where both sexes exhibit a considerable
degree of personal beauty. Some tribes are even distinguished for their
good looks, the men presenting models of manly form, while the women are
equally attractive by the regularity of their features, and the graceful
modesty of expression that adorns them.
A minute detail of the many peculiarities in which the numerous tribes
of the Amazon differ from one another would fill a large volume; and in
a sketch like the present, which is meant to include them all, it would
not be possible to give such a detail. Nor indeed would it serve any
good purpose; for although there are many points of difference between
the different tribes, yet these are generally of slight importance, and
are far more than counterbalanced by the multitude of resemblances. So
numerous are these last, as to create a strong _idiosyncrasy_ in the
tribes of the Amazon, which not only entitles them to be classed
together in an ethnological point of view, but which separates them from
all the other Indians of America. Of course, the non-possession of the
horse—they do not even know the animal—at once broadly distinguishes
them from the Horse Indians, both of the Northern and Southern divisions
of the continent.
It would be idle here to discuss the question as to whether the
Amazonian Indians have all a common origin. It is evident they have not.
We know that many of them are from Peru and Bogota—runaways from Spanish
oppression. We know that others migrated from the south—equally
fugitives from the still more brutal and barbarous domination of the
Portuguese. And still others were true aboriginals of the soil, or if
emigrants, when and whence came they? An idle question, never to be
satisfactorily answered. There they now are, and _as they are_ only
shall we here consider them.
Notwithstanding the different sources whence they sprang, we find them,
as I have already said, stamped with a certain idiosyncrasy, the result,
no doubt, of the like circumstances which surround them. One or two
tribes alone, whose habits are somewhat “odder” than the rest, have been
treated to a separate chapter; but for the others, whatever is said of
one, will, with very slight alteration, stand good for the whole of the
Amazonian tribes. Let it be understood that we are discoursing only of
those known as the “Indios bravos,” the fierce, brave, savage, or wild
Indians—as you may choose to translate the phrase,—a phrase used
throughout all Spanish America to distinguish those tribes, or sections
of tribes, who refused obedience to Spanish tyranny, and who preserve to
this hour their native independence and freedom. In contradistinction to
the “Indios bravos” are the “Indios mansos,” or “tame Indians,” who
submitted tamely both to the cross and sword, and now enjoy a rude
demi-semi-civilization, under the joint protectorate of priests and
soldiers. Between these two kinds of American aborigines, there is as
much difference as between a lord and his serf—the true savage
representing the former and the demi-semi-civilized savage approximating
more nearly to the latter. The meddling monk has made a complete failure
of it. His ends were purely political, and the result has proved ruinous
to all concerned;—instead of civilizing the savage, he has positively
demoralized him.
It is not of his neophytes, the “Indios mansos,” we are now writing, but
of the “infidels,” who would not hearken to his voice or listen to his
teachings—those who could never be brought within “sound of the bell.”
Both “kinds” dwell within the valley of the Amazon, but in different
places. The “Indios mansos” may be found along the banks of the main
stream, from its source to its mouth—but more especially on its upper
waters, where it runs through Spanish (Peruvian) territory. There they
dwell in little villages or collections of huts, ruled by the missionary
monk with iron rod, and performing for him all the offices of the menial
slave. Their resources are few, not even equalling those of their wild
but independent brethren; and their customs and religion exhibit a
ludicrous _mélange_ of savagery and civilization. Farther down the
river, the “Indio manso” is a “tapuio,” a hireling of the Portuguese, or
to speak more correctly, a _slave_; for the latter treats him as such,
considers him as such, and though there is a law against it, often drags
him from his forest-home and keeps him in life-long bondage. Any human
law would be a dead letter among such white-skins as are to be
encountered upon the banks of the Amazon. Fortunately they are but few;
a town or two on the lower Amazon and Rio Negro,—some wretched villages
between,—scattered _estancias_ along the banks—with here and there a
paltry post of “militarios,” dignified by the name of a “fort:” these
alone speak the progress of the Portuguese civilization throughout a
period of three centuries!
From all these settlements the wild Indian keeps away. He is never found
near them—he is never seen by travellers, not even by the settlers. You
may descend the mighty Amazon from its source to its mouth, and not once
set your eyes upon the true son of the forest—the “Indio bravo.” Coming
in contact only with the neophyte of the Spanish missionary, and the
skulking _tapuio_ of the Portuguese trader, you might bring away a very
erroneous impression of the character of an Amazonian Indian.
Where is he to be seen? where dwells he? what-like is his home? what
sort of a house does he build? His costume? his arms? his occupation?
his habits? These are the questions you would put. They shall all be
answered, but briefly as possible—since our limited space requires
brevity.
The wild Indian, then, is not to be found upon the Amazon itself, though
there are long reaches of the river where he is free to roam—hundreds of
miles without either town or _estancia_. He hunts, and occasionally
fishes by the great water, but does not there make his dwelling—though
in days gone by, its shores were his favorite place of residence. These
happy days were before the time when Orellana floated down past the door
of his “malocca”—before that dark hour when the Brazilian slave-hunter
found his way into the waters of the mighty _Solimoes_. This last event
was the cause of his disappearance. It drove him from the shores of his
beloved river-sea; forced him to withdraw his dwelling from observation,
and rebuild it far up, on those tributaries where he might live a more
peaceful life, secure from the trafficker in human flesh. Hence it is
that the home of the Amazonian Indian is now to be sought for—not on the
Amazon itself, but on its tributary streams—on the “caños” and
“igaripes,” the canals and lagoons that, with a labyrinthine
ramification, intersect the mighty forest of the Montaña. Here dwells
he, and here is he to be seen by any one bold enough to visit him in his
fastness home.
How is he domiciled? Is there anything peculiar about the style of his
house or his village?
Eminently peculiar; for in this respect he differs from all the other
savage people of whom we have yet written, or of whom we may have
occasion to write.
Let us proceed at once to describe his dwelling. It is not a tent, nor
is it a hut, nor a cabin, nor a cottage, nor yet a cave! His dwelling
can hardly be termed a house, nor his village a collection of
houses—since both house and village are one and the same, and both are
so peculiar, that we have no name for such a structure in civilized
lands, unless we should call it a “barrack.” But even this appellation
would give but an erroneous idea of the Amazonian dwelling; and
therefore we shall use that by which it is known in the “Lingoa geral,”
and call it a _malocca_.
By such name is his house (or village rather) known among the _tapuios_
and traders of the Amazon. Since it is both house and village at the
same time, it must needs be a large structure; and so is it, large
enough to contain the whole tribe—or at least the section of it that has
chosen one particular spot for their residence. It is the property of
the whole community, built by the labor of all, and used as their common
dwelling—though each family has its own section specially set apart for
itself. It will thus be seen that the Amazonian savage is, to some
extent, a disciple of the Socialist school.
I have not space to enter into a minute account of the architecture of
the _malocca_. Suffice it to say, that it is an immense temple-like
building, raised upon timber uprights, so smooth and straight as to
resemble columns. The beams and rafters are also straight and smooth,
and are held in their places by “sipos” (tough creeping plants), which
are whipped around the joints with a neatness and compactness equal to
that used in the rigging of a ship. The roof is a thatch of palm-leaves,
laid on with great regularity, and brought very low down at the eaves,
so as to give to the whole structure the appearance of a gigantic
beehive. The walls are built of split palms or bamboos, placed so
closely together as to be impervious to either bullet or arrows.
The plan is a parallelogram, with a semicircle at one end; and the
building is large enough to accommodate the whole community, often
numbering more than a hundred individuals. On grand festive occasions
several neighboring communities can find room enough in it—even for
dancing—and three or four hundred individuals not unfrequently assemble
under the roof of a single _malocca_.
Inside the arrangements are curious. There is a wide hall or avenue in
the middle—that extends from end to end throughout the whole length of
the parallelogram—and on both sides of the hall is a row of partitions,
separated from each other by split palms or canes, closely placed. Each
of these sections is the abode of a family, and the place of deposit for
the hammocks, clay pots, calabash-cups, dishes, baskets, weapons, and
ornaments, which are the private property of each. The hall is used for
the larger cooking utensils—such as the great clay ovens and pans for
baking the cassava, and boiling the _caxire_ or _chicha_. This is also a
neutral ground, where the children play, and where the dancing is done
on the occasion of grand “balls” and other ceremonial festivals.
The common doorway is in the gable end, and is six feet wide by ten in
height. It remains open during the day, but is closed at night by a mat
of palm-fibre suspended from the top. There is another and smaller
doorway at the semicircular end; but this is for the private use of the
chief, who appropriates the whole section of the semicircle to himself
and his family.
Of course the above is only the general outline of a _malocca_. A more
particular description would not answer for that of all the tribes of
the Amazon. Among different communities, and in different parts of the
Montaña, the _malocco_ varies in size, shape, and the materials of which
it is built; and there are some tribes who live in separate huts. These
exceptions, however, are few, and as a general thing, that above
described is the style of habitation throughout the whole Montaña, from
the confines of Peru to the shores of the Atlantic. North and south we
encounter this singular house-village, from the head-waters of the Rio
Negro to the highlands of Brazil.
Most of the Amazonian tribes follow agriculture, and understood the art
of tillage before the coming of the Spaniards. They practise it,
however, to a very limited extent. They cultivate a little manioc, and
know how to manufacture it into _farinha_ or _cassava_ bread. They plant
the _musaceæ_ and yam, and understand the distillation of various
drinks, both from the plantain and several kinds of palms. They can make
pottery from clay,—shaping it into various forms, neither rude nor
inelegant,—and from the trees and parasitical twiners that surround
their dwellings, they manufacture an endless variety of neat implements
and utensils.
Their canoes are hollow trunks of trees sufficiently well shaped, and
admirably adapted to their mode of travelling—which is almost
exclusively by water, by the numerous _caños_ and _igaripes_, which are
the roads and paths of their country—often as narrow and intricate as
paths by land.
The Indians of the tropic forest dress in the very lightest costume. Of
course each tribe has its own fashion; but a mere belt of cotton cloth,
or the inner bark of a tree, passed round the waist and between the
limbs, is all the covering they care for. It is the _guayuco_. Some wear
a skirt of tree-bark, and, on grand occasions, feather tunics are seen,
and also plume head-dresses, made of the brilliant wing and tail
feathers of parrots and macaws. Circlets of these also adorn the arms
and limbs. All the tribes paint, using the _anotto_, _caruto_, and
several other dyes which they obtain from various kinds of trees,
elsewhere more particularly described.
There are one or two tribes who _tattoo_ their skins but this strange
practice is far less common among the American Indians than with the
natives of the Pacific isles.
In the manufacture of their various household utensils and implements,
as well as their weapons for war and the chase, many tribes of Amazonian
Indians display an ingenuity that would do credit to the most
accomplished artisans. The hammocks made by them have been admired
everywhere; and it is from the valley of the Amazon that most of these
are obtained, so much prized in the cities of Spanish and Portuguese
America. They are the special manufacture of the women, the men only
employing their mechanical skill on their weapons.
The hammock, “rede,” or “maqueira,” is manufactured out of strings
obtained from the young leaves of several species of palms. The
_astrocaryum_, or “tucum” palm furnishes this cordage, but a still
better quality is obtained from the “miriti” (_Mauritia flexuosa_). The
unopened leaf, which forms a thick-pointed column growing up out of the
crown of the tree, is cut off at the base, and this being pulled apart,
is shaken dexterously until the tender leaflets fall out. These being
stripped of their outer covering, leave behind a thin tissue of a
pale-yellowish color, which is the fibre for making the cordage. After
being tied in bundles this fibre is left awhile to dry, and is then
twisted by being rolled between the hand and the hip or thigh. The women
perform this process with great dexterity. Taking two strands of fibre
between the forefinger and thumb of the left hand, they lay them
separated a little along the thigh; a roll downward gives them a twist,
and then being adroitly brought together, a roll upwards completes the
making of the cord. Fifty fathoms in a day is considered a good day’s
spinning. The cords are afterwards dyed of various colors, to render
them more ornamental when woven into the maqueira.
The making of this is a simple process. Two horizontal rods are placed
at about seven feet apart, over which the cord is passed some fifty or
sixty times, thus forming the “woof.” The warp is then worked in by
knotting the cross strings at equal distances apart, until there are
enough. Two strong cords are then inserted where the rods pass through,
and these being firmly looped, so as to draw all the parallel strings
together, the rod is pulled out, and the hammock is ready to be used.
Of course, with very fine “redes,” and those intended to be disposed of
to the traders, much pains are taken in the selection of the materials,
the dyeing the cord, and the weaving it into the hammock. Sometimes very
expensive articles are made ornamented with the brilliant feathers of
birds cunningly woven among the meshes and along the borders.
Besides making the hammock, which is the universal couch of the
Amazonian Indian, the women also manufacture a variety of beautiful
baskets. Many species of palms and _calamus_ supply them with materials
for this purpose, one of the best being the “Iu” palm (_Astroca ryum
acaule_). They also make many implements and utensils, some for
cultivating the plantains, melons, and _manioc_ root, and others for
manufacturing the last-named vegetable into their favorite “farinha”
(_cassava_). The Indians understood how to separate the poisonous juice
of this valuable root from its wholesome farina before the arrival of
white men among them; and the process by which they accomplish this
purpose has remained without change up to the present hour, in fact, it
is almost the same as that practised by the Spaniards and Portuguese,
who simply adopted the Indian method. The work is performed by the
women, and thus: the roots are brought home from the manioc “patch” in
baskets, and then washed and peeled. The peeling is usually performed by
the teeth; after that the roots are grated, the grater being a large
wooden slab about three feet long, a foot wide, a little hollowed out,
and the hollow part covered all over with sharp pieces of quartz set in
regular diamond-shaped patterns. Sometime a cheaper grater is obtained
by using the aërial root of the pashiuba palm (_Iriartea exhorhiza_),
which, being thickly covered over with hard spinous protuberances,
serves admirably for the purpose.
The grated pulp is next placed to dry upon a sieve, made of the rind of
a water-plant, and is afterwards put into a long elastic cylinder-shaped
basket or net, of the bark of the “jacitara” palm (_Desmoncus
macroacanthus_). This is the _tipiti_; and at its lower end there is a
strong loop, through which a stout pole is passed; while the _tipiti_
itself, when filled with pulp, is hung up to the branch of a tree, or to
a firm peg in the wall. One end of the pole is then rested against some
projecting point, that serves as a fulcrum, while the Indian woman,
having seated herself upon the other end, with her infant in her arms,
or perhaps some work in her hands acts as the lever power. Her weight
draws the sides of the _tipiti_ together, until it assumes the form of
an inverted cone; and thus the juice is gradually pressed out of the
pulp, and drops into a vessel placed underneath to receive it. The
mother must be careful that the little imp does not escape from under
her eye, and perchance quench its thirst out of the vessel below. If
such an accident were to take place, in a very few minutes she would
have to grieve for a lost child; since the sap of the manioc root, the
variety most cultivated by the Indians, is a deadly poison. This is the
“yucca amarga,” or bitter manioc; the “yucca dulce,” or sweet kind,
being quite innoxious, even if eaten in its raw state.
The remainder of the process consists in placing the grated pulp—now
sufficiently dry—on a large pan or oven, and submitting it to the action
of the fire. It is then thought sufficiently good for Indian use; but
much of it is afterwards prepared for commerce, under different names,
and sold as _semonilla_ (erroneously called _semolina_), sago, and even
as arrowroot.
At the bottom of that poisonous tub, a sediment has all the while been
forming. That is the _starch_ of the manioc root—the _tapioca_ of
commerce: of course that is not thrown away.
The men of the tropic forest spend their lives in doing very little.
They are idle and not much disposed to work—only when war or the chase
calls them forth do they throw aside for awhile their indolent habit,
and exhibit a little activity.